"Every match is being monitored for a mistake, for a bad result. You saw what happened after Juventus (1-0 home defeat in the Champions League).

"You might have read articles talking about Marcus Rashford, how he was playing so well for England - which seems to ignore the fact he missed a sitter against Croatia not that long ago - and so badly for Manchester United and it was down to the dullard of a manager who was making decisions about him at Manchester United which I think shows you the depth of antipathy to Mourinho in sections of the press at present because you can dislike Mourinho, you can criticise him in many ways, but if you are able to read a dictionary you would never describe the man as a dullard.

"But the key point is he’s under pressure, he’s fighting for his life.

"He is pushing Ed Woodward, the board, the Glazers to get reinforcements as soon as possible, to be allowed to sign the high-quality, experienced leader centre-back he’s been asking for months and months and trying to do in the January window."

United fought back from 1-0 down to win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford cancelled out Callum Wilson's opener for the Cherries.

Manager Mourinho said: "When we make a defensive mistake, instead of forgetting it and keeping playing, it triggers instability - like after a couple of minutes of the game with Ryan Fraser facing David de Gea, that triggered instability.

"It looked like we don't work tactically during the week, which is the worst thing for me as we work hard.

"But we have the faith that the game is not over, in the second half I could understand the frustration as we created chances but couldn't score."

Chris Smalling believes United's revival is being inspired by the rediscovery of the resilience that was the hallmark of their golden era under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Saturday's 2-1 victory at Bournemouth was the third time in four matches that United have recovered from a losing position, grabbing the winner in the second minute of stoppage time on this occasion.

Former manager Ferguson was renowned for nurturing the club's young talent, and it was a former trainee in Marcus Rashford who scored the winner at the Vitality Stadium, having proven so central to this latest recovery.

Referring to those once-famous characteristics, Smalling, 28, said: "We're showing that attitude, never giving in and you can see that coming out.

"No matter how bad that first half was, that second half we all believed we can go and win. It's a great feeling and it's bringing us closer together.